1. Introduction

Transportation is one of the leading causes of various harmful gases being released into the atmosphere. Particularly, due to dependency on fossil fuels, conventional Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) vehicles cause major impacts on air pollution and climate change along with negative impact on the well-beings of the society.

Achieving the global greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets requires the electrification of transportation at the larger scale. Zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) that include hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), plugin hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEV) are developing rapidly with consequences for energy use and GHG emissions. And the penetration of ZEVs is rising throughout the world. Though no country has yet accomplished a complete transition from

conventional ICEs to ZEVs, some countries such as Norway and Netherlands are leading the way. Electric vehicles (EVs) are widely considered as a promising solution for GHG reduction and key to a low-carbon mobility future. It can be noted that BEV has the lowest amount of CO2 emissions compared to ICE, HEV, and PHEV.

• Communication system: as CAVs will be connected to the surrounding environment such as vehicles with vehicle to vehicle connectivity (V2V), to the infrastructure with vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) and to anything else

• Storage battery system: this system includes charger and battery packs in the vehicle. Basically state of charge (SoC) level determines the amount of charge

CAEVs definitely transform existing mobility paradigm. It can be observed that technological advancements in driving assistants and network connectivity yield further opportunities and services and meet the sustainable development for cleaner,

CAEVs offer many potential advantages in terms of sustainable development for

• Improved safety: may eliminate many of the accidents caused by human error,

• Greater mobility: for those who cannot drive, including elderly, disabled, and

• Reduced parking needs: passengers can be dropped off at their destinations

such as the Internet: vehicle to anything (V2X), through wireless

Connected Autonomous Electric Vehicles as Enablers for Low-Carbon Future

safer, and smarter mobility. Figure 1 shows CAEV applications and services.

environment friendly urban mobility, which are as follows [1].

estimated at about 90% of all accidents.

without needing a nearby parking space.

communications links.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84287

stored in the battery.

2.1 Advantages of CAEVs

youth.

Figure 1.

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CAEV applications and services.

Recent trend in the transportation system is rapid shift toward autonomous vehicles (AV) [1]. A connected autonomous vehicle (CAV) is an emerging technology that could change the existing transportation system due to advanced communication and sensing capabilities, enhanced travel convenience, and the development of low-carbon mobility business models. Typically, the CAVs are electric, which are more efficient and therefore reduce the carbon emissions.

The connected autonomous electric vehicle (CAEV) will be an important part of the coming revolution in sustainable low-carbon mobility. Four major drivers that include automated driving, electric powertrains, connectivity, and shared mobility can provide compelling transition to a low-carbon future. Thus, they can result in major reductions in GHG emissions from transportation and are at the forefront of this rapid transformation in transportation [2–5]. These technological changes are outstretched and provide several opportunities and challenges.

The CAEVs have the great potential to operate with even higher vehicle efficiency, if they are charged using the electricity generated from renewable energy sources that will significantly reduce emissions as well as dependency on fossil fuels.

This book chapter is intended to provide understanding of the potential environmental implications of CAEV technologies by reviewing the existing studies and research works. We shall analyze environmental impacts including GHG emissions due to the transportation as well as improvement of vehicle efficiency.
